Department of Labor IG report reveals Job Corps program inaccurately reports results
posted at 6:45 pm on October 5, 2011 by Tina Korbe
Yet another example of the federal government’s inefficiency. Administered by the Department of Labor, Job Corps is “a free education and training program that helps young people learn a career, earn a high school diploma or GED, and find and keep a good job,” according to the program website.
Especially at a time of 9.1 percent unemployment, Job Corps sounds like a sensible program — and private charities have proved job training and job placement programs can also be highly effective. Unfortunately, a new audit by the DOL Office of Inspector General found the government-run program lacks reliable performance metrics, leaving lawmakers (and taxpayers!) with little way to evaluate whether Job Corps fulfills its purpose.
Among other things, the audit found the program often inaccurately reports results, overstating its number of rules-compliant job placements. For example, the program claimed as job training match placements 3,226 matches in which the jobs did not relate or poorly related to the students’ training, 3,778 matches in which students were enrolled in postsecondary education or training rather than jobs and 1,569 placements in jobs that required little or no previous work-related skills, knowledge or experience (“such as fast food cooks and dishwashers that potentially could have been obtained without Job Corps training,” according to the IG report). Combined, those matches represented 42.3 percent of all the matches Job Corps reported. In some cases, Job Corps failed to report results at all or to publish what results it did have.
“We believe that if Job Corps improves oversight to better recruit, train and place these students, an estimated $61.18 million would be put to better use,” the IG report states.
Job Corps’ cost per participant is $26,551 — but its cost per job placement is $76,574. Give me one of those unemployed Occupy Wall Street protesters and $76,574 and I’ll find him a job — and I have no experience as an educator or job trainer (although my mom and dad do, respectively)!
Rep. Darrell Issa calls the inspectors general of the federal government “unsung heroes” — and I agree. Little by little, they reveal the waste and inefficiency of our federal government. Occasionally, they uncover really high-dollar waste. On a relative scale, Job Corps doesn’t waste much money: What is $61.18 million in the federal budget? Peanuts! But while these numbers aren’t as sexy as the billion-and-trillion price tags of other government programs, the point is the same: The federal government will never have as much incentive to effectively manage taxpayer dollars as private businesses and organizations have to effectively manage their own money. It’s not so much that I think Job Corps should be scrapped entirely as it is that, if I had a choice, I would rather be taxed one dollar less so I could donate one dollar more to a private organization that would really do the job training trick.
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It must be admitted, duck pizzles are extremely weird and complicated.
S. Weasel on April 28, 2013 at 3:32 PM
such monies should be diverted to study the viscosity of pitch
John the Libertarian on April 28, 2013 at 3:34 PM
Quacks!
Shy Guy on April 28, 2013 at 3:35 PM
I’m sure you could get somebody from the LGBTQ community to study them for free.
Fenris on April 28, 2013 at 3:36 PM
I’d study chick genitals for free.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 3:36 PM
http://youtu.be/fTOH8QK-6HA
mittens on April 28, 2013 at 3:39 PM
That’s what I admire about you, spark. Your willingness to volunteer for the good of humanity,
John the Libertarian on April 28, 2013 at 3:40 PM
I thought that was you. STAY OUT OF MY POND!
CW on April 28, 2013 at 3:42 PM
But will u clean carpets for free?
Cool,we have no $ but we are studying duck winkies and dinkies.
I many print the article and show my senior client..when they can’t
get there meds or a loaf of bread.
I WANT my $ back!
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 3:44 PM
From linked article:
Look for more ducks to become college mascots.
http://althouse.blogspot.in/2013/04/uconns-new-husky-dog-logo-insensitive.html
Fallon on April 28, 2013 at 3:45 PM
This is where I tend to disagree. The proper role of federally subsidized research is in fundamental research where the possible benefits to humanity are difficult to fathom. But some small percentage of fundamental research eventually leads to understanding which could then be applied.
And that’s when the government should butt out. When understanding has moved to the point where commercial interests can begin to fathom commercial applications, let the free market take over and keep the governments fingers off the scale. So, yes, more duck genitals, less Solyndra.
DaveO on April 28, 2013 at 3:45 PM
Hire 6 new Border control agents with the $384,949.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 3:46 PM
Feds fund research on how cocaine affects the sex lives of Japanese quail and other fantASStic things!
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 3:46 PM
Quacks give 4 for quack research.
Pathetic.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 3:46 PM
Just don’t tweet photos of them.
itsnotaboutme on April 28, 2013 at 3:49 PM
So…what’s the NSF paying to look at duck d*cks these days?
coldwarrior on April 28, 2013 at 3:50 PM
Oh, and I now know way more about ducks than I need to… Not hap-pay, hap-pay, hap-pay. And, as long as the ducks aren’t concerned, why are we messin’ with their privates?
Fallon on April 28, 2013 at 3:51 PM
Do you recall the words of warning issued by that I gave about the military-industrial complex? Do you know about which I warned immediately following?
Too bad that you aren’t as skeptical and worried about the scientific-technological elite as you are of the MIC.
Sincerely,
President Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower, five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 3:53 PM
Oops…that would be…
Do you recall the words of warning I gave you about the military-industrial complex?
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 3:53 PM
Cuz the sergeants are busy doin’ other stuff?
coldwarrior on April 28, 2013 at 3:54 PM
Cleombrotus on April 28, 2013 at 3:54 PM
Feds fund research on how cocaine affects the sex lives of Japanese quail and other fantASStic things!
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 3:46 PM
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 3:55 PM
…a new food source for the Congressional Cafeteria?
KOOLAID2 on April 28, 2013 at 3:57 PM
we had to release 200,000 from INS due to sequester cuts..
but duck balls and quail sex..no way man.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 3:58 PM
…a new food source for the Congressional Cafeteria?
KOOLAID2 on April 28, 2013 at 3:57 PM
LOL Kool…
To good for them.
9 lives-2 cans a day or brown bag it.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 3:59 PM
Back off man, I’m a Scientist. Lolz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEbSABWJiJc
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 3:59 PM
Sandra Fluke is at home practicing with tiny condoms….
BacaDog on April 28, 2013 at 4:00 PM
$384K
And the ducks are down with that?
coldwarrior on April 28, 2013 at 4:00 PM
…in depth!
KOOLAID2 on April 28, 2013 at 4:01 PM
You guys quack me up.
No… I couldn’t resist. But thanks for asking.
Jazz Shaw on April 28, 2013 at 4:02 PM
BacaDog on April 28, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Howard the Duck?
coldwarrior on April 28, 2013 at 4:02 PM
No dudes.. read RW<'s link..here are 2 gems.
Professional sports loophole – (Taxes) $91 million
The National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), and the
Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) classify themselves as non-profit organizations to
exempt themselves from federal income taxes on earnings. Smaller sports leagues, such as
the National Lacrosse League, are also using the tax status. Taxpayers may be losing at
least $91 million subsidizing these tax loopholes for professional sports leagues that
generate billions of dollars annually in profits.28 Taxpayers should not be asked to
subsidize sports organizations already benefiting widely from willing fans and turning a
profit, while claiming to be non-profit organizations.
Moroccan pottery classes – (U.S. Agency for International
Development) $27 million
In 2009, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) began pursuing a fouryear plan to improve the economic competitiveness of Morocco. A review by the agency’s
Inspector General (IG) found the $27-million project “was not on track to achieve its
goals.”98
A key part of the project involved training Moroccans to create and design pottery to sell in
domestic and international markets.99
Out-of-this-world Martian food tasting – (HI) $947,000
Imagine pizza so out of this world, you would have to travel to Mars to have a slice.
That is the goal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Advanced
Food Technology Project, which has already developed a recipe for pizza and about 100
other foods that could be served some day on Mars.109
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:06 PM
building a “duck dynasty” with research funds, I see…./
ted c on April 28, 2013 at 4:07 PM
I think we’re in similar camps.
Auction the research off when it reaches the EUREKA! point while maintaining some sort of percentage-based income from patent control or the like, with a contractual agreement to sign the patent over to the entity that won the auction at the end of X years.
If it really is a groundbreaking way to manufacture _______ (paint in the bluebird case), then the sum of those payments should cover the cost of the research as well as the costs of some of the failures, and Solyndras and Fiskers would be avoided.
rogerb on April 28, 2013 at 4:08 PM
USDA’s caviar dreams – (ID) $300,000
Many Americans are finding it difficult to afford to put just the basics on their family’s
dinner table. Yet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spent $300,000 this year to
promote caviar.134
As “one of the world’s most expensive delicacies, selling for as much as $400 per ounce, or
$14 a gram,” caviar has been considered a “luxury cuisine for thousands of years.”135 136 In
fact, Aristotle “described great platters of caviar garnished with flowers, served amid
trumpet fanfare” at Greek banquets.
137
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:09 PM
Phantom, unused grant accounts draw fees – (Department of
Health and Human Services) $2 million
The government pays as much as $2 million annually in monthly service fees to maintain $2 million
about 28,000 phantom grant accounts that are empty and have expired.175
Each of these accounts have a zero-dollar balance and their authority to operate has
expired under law, yet because they have not been closed out, the federal government pays
about $173,000 per month to maintain them.176
The agency that maintains an expired or fully spent grant simply needs to submit a code to
with a special symbol.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:13 PM
h/t RWM.
HA-Please add her to your team.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Does this tie into AFLAC and healthcare?
If things keep on the present course, someone is going to be sinking to the bottom of the pond soon on that issue.
And the poor soul read my “pear and pegs” remark and knows who he is.
IlikedAUH2O on April 28, 2013 at 4:14 PM
If we’re going to spend money to study ducks, I’d much rather engage in studies along these lines.
Stoic Patriot on April 28, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Contessa Brewer wonders whether it’s a right-hand or left-hand thread…..
BacaDog on April 28, 2013 at 4:14 PM
I don’t think its funny. $384,949 is several years federal income tax for me. I resent their taking money from my pocket and squandering it like this. When you look at this stuff on the micro level it loses its humor.
Mason on April 28, 2013 at 4:15 PM
With another NSF grant, scientists were attempting to cross-breed different species of birds. They crossed a pheasant and an eagle and named it a “pheagle”. They crossed a pheasant and a robin to make a “phobin”. Then, they crossed a pheasant and a duck and called it a dumb “Barry”.
Too fowl?
Fallon on April 28, 2013 at 4:15 PM
IlikedAUH2O on April 28, 2013 at 4:14 PM
As an insurance consultant- I just laughed.
Will steal that…:)
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:16 PM
WryTrvllr on April 28, 2013 at 4:16 PM
I don’t think its funny. $384,949 is several years federal income tax for me. I resent their taking money from my pocket and squandering it like this. When you look at this stuff on the micro level it loses its humor.
Mason on April 28, 2013 at 4:15 PM
well..they do what they want.
*bend over*
I resent a hell of a lot more then this-this is a grain of sand
on a beach filled with fraud,abuse,waste and they do not care.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:18 PM
Your tax dollars are furthering communism/socialism, across the globe.
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:18 PM
Yet, most politicians in DC can’t find their azzes from their heads.
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:20 PM
Get a colonoscopy and your report will show several Govt entities are occupying.
(for RWM)
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:20 PM
To be fair, we are only researching the sex lives of Hoovering Japanese quail.
So, see, the government’s already saved you money. Imagine the cost if we studied the sex lives of ALL Japanese quail???
Remember, according to Joe Biden:
1) You have to spend money to avoid going bankrupt; and
2) Not spending the money that you weren’t going to spend anyway is a cut in spending and evidence for the taxpayers that this administration is a good steward of the public purse.
**she puts on her Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me collector’s edition
greenpsychedelic-swirl eye-shades**Yeah, baby!
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:21 PM
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:18 PM
How sweet-
The bureau for the past several years has purportedly made numerous awards — worth millions of dollars — to the United Nations, the Solidarity Center and other similar groups, “whose stated objective is to help establish labor unions in foreign countries,” the senators said.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:22 PM
1. They’d have to pay her.
2. She’d have to pay taxes.
“Fund Your Utopia Without Me.”™ –RWM
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:24 PM
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:21 PM
Oh! Now I see.
Thank you Gubmint for saving me $ by
only studying hoovering ones and not all.
Your saving us $.
Damn I am stupid..I should be grateful.
And Joe is so wise.
Thx rwm.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:25 PM
Bag-less devolution!
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:26 PM
1. They’d have to pay her.
2. She’d have to pay taxes.
“Fund Your Utopia Without Me.”™ –RWM
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:24 PM
:( No pro-bono?
well okay schad.
I can dream and still go to her blog.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:27 PM
You’re very much welcome. To quote SWalker, I always look like this: 0_o when listening to Joe give me ‘just the facts, man!’
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:27 PM
Your tax dollars at work…ff they aint killin babies, they got ducks by the short feathers
crosshugger on April 28, 2013 at 4:30 PM
You look like that because someone ripped your eyeball out.
lmao.
But your brain is still on fire. :)
Jazz, you should have also linked the Book of Waste.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:32 PM
Hmmm…Maybe ducks’ glide on water while paddling furiously underneath looks so effotless due to them having big, uh, rudders?
As Thomas Dolby would say, “Science!”
;)
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on April 28, 2013 at 4:34 PM
Yep. Please hot air, RWMs brain would be a great thread maker and writer fact bringer personage.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:34 PM
One for the
AnnalsAnals of The Obama Administration Is The Best Steward Of The Public Purse Evah™:Q: How much taxpayer money was Obama originally set to ‘loan’ Fisker Automotive?
A: $529 million
Q: How much taxpayer money did he ‘loan’ Fisker Automotive before he finally stopped making payments to Fisker long after the Department of Energy first warned him that the company was not meeting the agreed-to milestones set to protect taxpayers?
A: $192 million
Q: How long did Obama wait to tell Congress and the American public that he had stopped the loan because of Fisker’s precarious financial condition?
A: 8 months
Q: How much of its loan investment will the American taxpayer get back ?
A: $0
Q: How many cars did Fisker make?
A: Less than 2,000.
Q: Approximately, how much did it lose per car?
A: $660,000
Q: How many cars has Fisker produced since last summer?
A: 0
Q: Did Fisker ever reopen that former, shuttered General Motors factory in Delaware that it promised in order to produce brand, spanking, new and exciting plug-in, electric hybrid vehicles that Joe Biden told us would be the next, big thing?
A: No.
Q: How many of those ‘billions of dollars in jobs’ that Biden promised his home state would enjoy because of Fisker’s ‘investment’ of our ‘investment dollars’ in Delaware materialised?
A: Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Q: What documents have been drawn up by lawyers for Fisker Automotive and are expected to be filed any day in Federal court?
A. Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Yeah, baby!
Heckava job, Barry!
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:35 PM
That’s just ducky.
Lord love a duck…directed by George…Axelrod.
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:35 PM
Plus her toenails are painted.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:35 PM
Well, now that you mention it…
Evidently, eye-ripping-out is part of the Glade Fire Department’s new ‘Scared Straight’ programme.
lol
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:37 PM
Yep. Please hot air, RWMs brain would be a great thread maker and writer fact bringer personage.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:34 PM
Yep- talk about hits!
But her brain would over load the server..
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:37 PM
You guys are too kind.
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:38 PM
Maybe Todd Akin confused female ducks with female humans?
dookphan on April 28, 2013 at 4:40 PM
heh..
went to a “fancy” hotel for a meeting last Christmas..
A Fisker in valet.
I literally laughed.
Stooge rolled out.
I was behind him..temped to accidently let off the brake for a second.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:40 PM
Speaking of ducks and sex
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:40 PM
Horrific. I hope they catch who did it. Too bad the statue of limitations ran out. Oh well.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:41 PM
…and yet Jazz sees no problem with the Marketplace Fairness Act that would put more money into the hands of politicians to fund these types of studies. Truly he is a brilliant analyst.
Panther on April 28, 2013 at 4:43 PM
nah..mean hobbits but honest.
Right Spark?
Roll with rwm..
2016 RWM and vice Sparky. (VP doesnt do much..it will be okay.) lol
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:43 PM
Maybe Todd Akin confused female ducks with female humans?
dookphan on April 28, 2013 at 4:40 PM
omg…
y’all are killing me.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:44 PM
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:46 PM
Insane has a problem identifying the good guys.
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:46 PM
Did I ever tell you that I do, in fact, support vigilante justice in certain situations?
lol
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:48 PM
Yeah, I’m with the government on this one; there is something here, and no commercial incentive to get to it. So time we cut somebody some grant money.
(It’s really interesting. So you have some bird species that came up with an innovative shortcut to mating ritual; i.e. it invented gang rape by otherwise behaviorally unworthy males. This caught on but rather than go extinct as their mating behavior short circuited (which happens) and energy investment in rearing progeny became unrewarding (the males still doing that began to stop passing on their genes), you get a genetic arms race in two body parts. There is a lot stuff going on here.)
normalphil on April 28, 2013 at 4:48 PM
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:41 PM
Did I ever tell you that I do, in fact, support vigilante justice in certain situations?
lol
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:48 PM
LMAO!
Cover-em SP.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:50 PM
Of interest to Joe Biden for some reason…
albill on April 28, 2013 at 4:51 PM
More duck fat
Schadenfreude on April 28, 2013 at 4:51 PM
and yet most human males would probably let certain ‘researchers’ ‘study’ their genitalia for free…
mittens on April 28, 2013 at 4:51 PM
Daffy and Donald Duck unavailable for comment…
albill on April 28, 2013 at 4:51 PM
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:46 PM
Proud wacko, hobbit,bigot here. ;)
I wanna take McCain surfing….
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:52 PM
Bwaaah. I just got p3wned. Wait till I git the munchies.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:53 PM
Daffy and Donald Duck unavailable for comment…
albill on April 28, 2013 at 4:51 PM
Yeah
Cause they are strapped down with a scope checking out their package.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:54 PM
hee heee
better not..U will just get p3wned again. ;)
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 4:55 PM
Sequackster!
profitsbeard on April 28, 2013 at 4:57 PM
Too good to check. Federal grant for studying… fowl balls.
SparkPlug on April 28, 2013 at 4:59 PM
Resist We Much on April 28, 2013 at 4:37 PM
LOL-why I am not a glade member.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 5:01 PM
*say hallo to mah leetle friend!* (in donald duck voice)
ted c on April 28, 2013 at 5:01 PM
they’ve got to look in the upper deck…er...duck.
ted c on April 28, 2013 at 5:02 PM
As usual ,the government says, “Put it on my bill”.
Dr. Carlo Lombardi on April 28, 2013 at 5:02 PM
Thx guys..not so pissed..
heading to check out some waves.
Laterz. qotd perhaps.
Quack.
bazil9 on April 28, 2013 at 5:05 PM
This is garbage. Nobody comes to HotAir to read month’s old rehash.
I see what you did by linking to an article who posted about this story today. Also the article you’ve linked masks the original source with a root-link instead of linking directly. That’s not too insulting to readers is it?
Hot Air needs to hire more weekend help.
Capitalist Hog on April 28, 2013 at 5:08 PM
I’m sure sesquackpedalian will appear momentarily to sort this all out for us…
Del Dolemonte on April 28, 2013 at 5:09 PM
Long Duck Dong says “No more yanky my wanky, the Donger needs food!“
Flange on April 28, 2013 at 5:13 PM
We need to bring back William Proxmire’s “Golden Fleece” awards.
merlich on April 28, 2013 at 5:30 PM
This reminds me of a girl I met that worked at the County Fair one year…
slickwillie2001 on April 28, 2013 at 6:04 PM
FREE GOVERNMENT MONEY
blammm on April 28, 2013 at 6:38 PM
What a bunch of duckheads.
andycanuck on April 28, 2013 at 6:49 PM
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